


EGLAF - a word with no meaning

by VesperSoul (Vesuvius00)



Series: Two Sides, Same Coin [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (actual story related tags now), Gen, I might get further than 5 chapters before giving up, I'm doing something with this story that I've never done before, I'm just going to write, I'm just gonna post, Multi, Spoilers, for once, i hope you enjoy, no agonizing over if people read it or not, no beating myself up wondering if anyone likes it, reader reffered to as "you", the game's been out for a year, what's there left to spoil?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 20:38:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8259827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vesuvius00/pseuds/VesperSoul
Summary: You were their best friend, their only friend. Or so they would tell you. But then they ran off, disappeared from the face of the earth without a single trace. As bad as their life had been, you didn't blame them.But they could have at least said goodbye.Now the world seems to be falling apart around you, events and days repeating themselves, only the barest differences between them. Until one day, they come back -the savior of a people. There's a lot to be explained, and a lot left to do, but it all starts now with this one choice.*Will you help me?❤Yes          No(taking place during the whole events of the game, then to a somehow-permanent post-pacifist setting.)





	1. Prolouge

The sun was setting over the city, the bright orange and fiery red hues of the sky a welcome contrast to the dark grey shadows of the streets below. You and your best friend -Frisk, they liked to be called; though their real name was something completely different, they'd never told you what it actually was- were sitting on the edge of the rooftop of the apartment tower you lived in with your foster parents, watching the people of the city going about their business in the quickly waning light. The air smelled like cigarette smoke and mint, one scent emanating from the poorly-maintained group of potted plants not too far from the entrance to the stairwell back down into the claustrophobia-inducing halls of the apartment complex below, and the other smell drifting towards you two on the wind from the group of haggardly-dressed teens on the other corner of the rooftop. 

You were whistling the tune to one of your favorite anime openings, trying to get Frisk to be able to guess the name of the show. You weren't sure if they'd been able to see it yet or not, but the game was fun and you'd been playing it together since you two had met. The last note passed your lips and you smiled triumphantly as Frisk applauded your performance, giving in to the fact that they had no idea what it was from. 

"It's the first opening for AOT." You say with a slight flourish of your hand as you stand, placing your left fist over your heart and your right behind the small of your back, mimicking the iconic salute from the show and staring fabulously into the sunset for a moment. Frisk laughs and copies you, purposely mixing up which hand goes where so you can correct them. You do, and begin laughing too as the teenagers shout at the two of you to shut up. 

Frisk sighs after a moment and looks to where the sun has just about disappeared over the horizon. "I should get going soon. Or, now actually." They start walking towards the stairwell, and you follow after them without hesitation.

"Yeah, the street's ain't too good after dark. I'll walk to the corner with ya." Frisk nods but then stops on the landing to the floor that your apartment is on. 

"No, remember what happened last time? You got grounded for a month just for being on the street past dark, even though the sun was still setting by the time you waved to me from your window." You looked at them solemnly for a moment, remembering the time they meant. Frisk smiled and punched your arm playfully, bringing you out of the thoughts. "Hey, I'll be fine. It's just across the street, anyways."

"Yeah, yeah it is." You smile back and fake a hit that Frisk easily dodges. You open the door to the hallway as Frisk begins to descend the rest of the stairs, shouting after them before they're out of sight. "See you tomorrow?"

You hear them grumble something as the door closes behind you, but you don't bother asking again. Unless their Aunt had something planned tomorrow they'd be at the street-corner with your bikes, waiting to go explore the city as you always did on saturdays. Otherwise, you'd still see them tomorrow night for an hour or so before sunset again. Their Aunt always kicked them out of the apartment for a few hours a day so she and her boyfriend could have some "alone time". She was a bitch, but You and Frisk didn't really mind if it meant you could spend more time together goofing off.

You should have asked again.

* * *

 

Your foster-mom and foster-dad were strict, and kinda dumb by your standards. They tried to get you for being outside past dark the second you walked into the apartment. It took them talking to the neighbor's teenaged son for you to prove you were only on the roof. Strange how they'd listen to and believe  _him_ over you, right?

The whole scenario ended without incident however and you were able to finish eating dinner and doing the dishes within an hour, which merited you some time in your room playing video games or whatever before bedtime at 11. As you walked into your room you glanced through your window at the building on the other side of the street, scanning the lit windows for the one with Frisk's curtains, and finding it almost immediately. The lights were on, but you couldn't see your friend there as you studied the pattern of light and shadows beyond the far-away glass. They must be reading or something. 

You shrug and turn on your small tv, popping your disc for Mew Mew Kissy Cutie into the DVD player. You'd tried to get Frisk to watch this one, but somehow the two of you would always get interrupted when you tried to watch it together. Almost as if the universe didn't want your friend to see the awesomeness that it was yet. You watched about 5 episodes before your foster-mom came in and told you to turn it off. You obliged, knowing there was no point to fighting her, and handed the remotes for the TV and DVD player to her before she gave you an awkward hug and wished you sweet dreams. She flipped the lights off just before closing your bedroom door and you crawled into bed. 

You could see the lights still on in Frisk's window as you lay there, trying to fall asleep. As the time dragged on, the more uneasy you felt. Normally, Frisk was asleep before you. 

Maybe they'd fallen asleep reading and left the light on? Maybe they were just still awake somehow? You comforted yourself with these thoughts and eventually fell asleep. The lights were still on as you woke up to their Aunt banging on your apartment door in the morning.

By noon the next day Frisk was reported missing under suspicions of running away.


	2. So, that's where they went...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- "you" the reader are referred to as "Z" by the other characters, which is the first letter of your full name.  
> \- The city "you" live in is Summer City, on the west coast of North America (USA or Canada, Idk yet).  
> \- Alternate chapter title: Oh, it's Sunday again?  
> \- I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get out, I just wasn't sure how or where to end it.

"Boom! Headshot!" The phrase is followed by a chorus of laughter from a group of friends playing with knock-offs of nerf guns not too far from you as you finish pinning up a poster to yet another telephone pole. You'd been out and about on your bike all day yesterday, and had set out again as soon as school had let out today. Everyone you knew was either looking for Frisk, or getting more people to try and help look for them. You were doing both at once -that's the beauty of putting up posters.

You glance at the photo on the poster, taken almost a year ago on School Picture Day. Frisk looked like they were laughing at a joke or something, their eyes bright as they looked somewhere to the left of the camera. A foam pellet hits you in the side of the head and you hear the group of friends shout and laugh again before you turn to face them. They quieted down quick. You stared at them for a moment before getting on your bike and peddling away, on to the next block. The look on your face must have been harsh, because you heard one of them yell the word "Sorry!" after you.

A couple of tears escaped your eyes as you rode, the wind drying them almost as quickly as they appeared. Where was Frisk? Why would the suddenly just disappear? And most importantly, why hadn't they told you? You were best friends, you couldn't even remember the last time you'd been able to keep anything secret from Frisk for more than a day. It was supposed to be the same way for Frisk, right?  You got a couple more posters up before you reached the park and decided to give up for today, or at least take a break. The sky had grown cloudy in the last hour and it smelled like it was gonna rain, the building sense of electricity in the air suggesting a thunderstorm. Hopefully if it did storm it wouldn't ruin the posters that you'd already put up, just the thought of having to do all that again made you feel tired. Thunder rumbles lightly in the distance and you sigh, mother nature just always has to ruin your hopes, doesn't she?

You got home just as the rain started coming down heavy, locking your bike to its usual lamppost before running into your apartment building at full speed, your hands covering the top of your head in a failed attempt to keep from getting soaked in the few seconds you were out in the downpour. Your foster-parents told you to just grab some leftovers for dinner and that you could spent the rest of the night in your room if you wanted, so that's exactly what you did. You probably fell asleep at about midnight.

* * *

You woke up at 7:18, over an hour after your alarm and with about 27 minutes before the school day starts to get ready  _and_ ride your bike there. You hurriedly pulled on a clean shirt and ran a comb over your hair, practically running over your Foster-mom as you came through your bedroom door. She looks at you curiously, herself still wearing her pajamas and robe and her hair in a slew of tangled blonde curls that hung down to about the bottoms of her ears. "What are you doing up so early Z?"

You're stunned into a temporary silence, and she has to repeat herself, snapping her fingers to get your attention. You hurriedly explain as you begin to walk past her. "It's 7:30 almost. I'm, gonna be late for school." As soon as the words leave your mouth she breaks into a large smile, laughing lightly as she responds.

"Oh, Z. It's Sunday sweetie. You've got plenty of time to get ready for school tomorrow." You had picked up your backpack, and were almost out the door when her words reached you. 

"Wait, what? But, yesterday was Monday! I remember, I had a pop quiz in math..." You searched her face, trying to see if she was joking with you as she took your backpack from you and put it on the floor.

"Sounds like you were having a nightmare then. Would you like some breakfast?" She walked into the kitchen and you followed her, sitting at the table confusedly.

"What about the thunderstorm last night? I know that was real, it kept me up all night!"

"It hasn't rained, let alone stormed, in almost a month sweetie."

 ...

You dropped the topic after a little bit. You supposed that it probably had just been a nightmare, at least until Frisk's Aunt came knocking on your door at about 10 am. Just like in your "dream". She and your foster parents talked for a little bit, and it was exactly the same as you remembered. Frisk was missing and their Aunt was in a tizzy about it. As you listened to the conversation you heard something new however, Frisk hadn't been home at all last night, even though you could remember seeing the lights on in their room after you split last night.

You left then, putting on your jacket and running across the street to Frisk's building. One of their neighbors let you into the stairwell and you ran up the steps two at a time until you got to their floor. When you got to the apartment door and checked the handle it was unlocked, so you knocked as you opened the door to let yourself in. The Aunt's boyfriend was asleep on the couch, so you walked quietly past him and into Frisk's room, closing the door behind you so you wouldn't bother him as much.

The lights were still on, and the room was messier than usual. Frisk was a pretty organized person, or at least they didn't normally like to leave things sitting around. There were books scattered across the floor, and one of the shelves of the bookcase by Frisk's bed was on the floor with them. A pile of clothes sat on the bed, clean from what you could tell, and after a quick inspection of the hiding places in the room you came to the sad conclusion that Frisk had indeed run away.

Now you knew they'd planned it though. Their favorite sweater was gone from the pile of clothing, and their home-made first-aid kit had disappeared from it's hiding place in the closet. Sure, it was just a bunch of band-aids stuffed into a sock, but Frisk only took that with them if they knew there _was_ a possibility of needing it. It also meant they'd planned on going somewhere that they wouldn't be able to get help if they needed it. 

You were starting to put the pile of books back on the shelf when you heard the door open just before an overly-cheery voice greeted you. "Hey, Z-buddy!!" You jumped at the suddenness of the voice behind you, and looked quickly to see the boyfriend standing in the doorway, yawning. "You an' Frisk got plans today? Where is the kid anyway?" He looked around the room, starting to take in the sight as a look of confusion came over his face.

"Frisk... Isn't here. Your girlfriend thinks that they may have run away." You pick up a book off the floor -the only one, you noticed, that was lying open. "I'm here looking for proof of that." You weren't sure what you were looking at until you glanced at the title of the book,  _A History of Humans and Monsters,_ by some person whose name didn't look like you could pronounce it even if you had two heads. The page it had been open to was an old map on the left, and a few paragraphs of whatever on the right. There were a few circles drawn in highlighter over spots on the map, each one a different color. They seemed to correspond to a few phrases in the text that had also been highlighted.

"Well, what'chu lookin at? How would you know what's proof or not?" This guy had always gotten on your nerves, but as he reached for the book in your hand it finally got to you. You shut it quickly and tossed it onto the bed behind you, picking up another one off the floor and reading the back.

"That's just some history book for school. I just noticed that Frisk takes _way_ better notes than me. This one's a sci-fi novel they let me borrow a while back." You turn the book over and place it back on Frisk's bookshelf after glancing at the cover. "I'll know when I find something, but... This place is a mess, and I think we both know Frisk liked to keep stuff organized."

You may be sure they left knowingly, but that doesn't mean they ran away. Your words seemed to have the wanted effect on the guy in front of you though, because he promptly started freaking out. "Wait, you mean Frisk got taken or something?! I was here all night! I think I would have heard someone come into the apartment and TAKE A KID!"

You shrug and glance towards the bedroom's window. Due to the way the building was built, the fire escape connected to a bedroom in each unit instead of the living room like your apartment's did, and this unit's connection just happened to be in Frisk's room. "The window's open." But that meant nothing. Frisk always left their window open, except in the winter. It worked to help you sell the story, however.

The boyfriend left the room, and you heard the apartment door slam behind him as he left, probably to go tell Frisk's Aunt what you'd just caused him to believe. You quickly picked up the History book and put it in your jacket-pocket. The book was small enough that it fit just fine, but from what'd you'd seen earlier the font was tiny. The thing probably might as well have been a school textbook.

Back in your room, you close the door and sit on your bed, the book resting on your lap as you begin to read, taking note of what had been highlighted. It was an older map, showing only geographical features and the then settlement of Summerville circled in pink highlighter, which is now Summer City, where you live. There were various other yellow circles on the page, with where each place's name was mentioned in the passage highlighted as well. South of the city and a bit further away from the coast, another circle pointed out a mountain called E... Ebott? The name was written in red marker next to the circle but there was no matching name in the passage. Reading through the couple pages before and after the map didn't yield any answers either. It seemed familiar, but you couldn't place where you could have heard it before. 

* * *

You put the book aside just in time for your Foster-mom to come in and hand you a pile of posters, asking you to go around the neighborhood on your bike to put them up. Yeah, this definitely already happened. You sigh and take the posters, putting them in your backpack as you head outside again. You spend the rest of the day just like you remembered doing already, and Monday was the exact same way too, with the storm and everything.

You woke up on Sunday again, even more confused than the first time. It was one thing to have extreme Déjà vu for a couple days, but then for it to happen again? It was as if time were resetting itself. You wen't through the days again, doing the same stuff you remember from the first time, just to wake up on Sunday  _again_. 

and again

and again

and again...

Eventually you could recall whole conversations, and you were suddenly the perfect student because you'd gone through the same lessons over and over and over again. You always went back to Frisk's room for that book, and read it little by little as the days kept repeating themselves. The more you read, the more you began to understand, and one day before the storm you decided to try and write it all out in your journal. It didn't matter that it would disappear by "tomorrow".

> \- Found the book "A History of Humans and Monsters" by Wynonna Neugebauer in Frisk's room  
>  \- Frisk has considered running away a few times before, but I was always able to talk them down because they had no idea where they would go or what they would do if they did run away  
>  \- Apparently they've done some research since then  
>  \- The book appears to be credible, even though it tells the same story as the weird legends I've heard since I was 3, albeit with more descriptive facts  
>  \- "Long ago, there was a war between humans and monsters. No living person knows which side started the war, but the humans ended it by locking the monsters away in an old mountain. In modern day, we call this mountain Mt. Ebott, but for the remainder of this book it shall be referred to as "the prison". You can see a map of the battlefields and the location of the prison on page 23."  
>  \- ↑ This was the map that Frisk marked locations onto.  
>  \- The book claims that the monsters still live, trapped in the mountain by an unbreakable barrier that only humans can pass through.  
>  \- "unbreakable" by the monsters at least. Humans may be able to break it but the book doesn't say how.  
>  \- Just as all the legends say, the book agrees that any human who goes up the mountain won't come back down.

Seeing your thoughts written down for once made it easier to think, somehow. As you read over what you'd written you felt you could hear Frisk's voice in your head. All those conversations you'd had, where they told you just how much they wanted to leave, and you tried to talk them out of it. They hated their life with their Aunt, and you knew that, but... You never thought Frisk was suicidal.

You ripped the sheet of paper out of the notebook and crumpled it up, throwing it into the corner of the room. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Thunder crashed outside as the rain started, finally. The rest of the night went like it usually did, and you were ready to wake up on Sunday again as you went to sleep.

But you didn't. 


End file.
